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IBM i Modernization Engine for Lifecycle Integration (Merlin) is a set of tools run in OpenShift containers which guide and assist software developers in the modernization of IBM i applications, allowing them to realize the value of a hybrid cloud, multi-platform DevOps implementation.
Additional resources:
See the announcement for ordering details.
See the product page for more information.
Visit YouTube to learn more about Merlin and the integration with ARCAD tools.
Listen to a podcast introducing Merlin.
Watch a COMMON webcast for a Merlin overview.
Read a blog post on a “Wizard” for Application Development and Modernization on IBM i.
Merlin consists of Merlin Platform and Merlin Tools, which all run on OpenShift Container Platform as container applications.
Merlin Platform provides centralized place to manage different components, including Merlin Tools’ lifecycle, IBM i virtual machine provisioning, REST APIs management, Merlin users and authorities management, credential management and so on.
Merlin Tools provide IDE and CI/CD applications to enable modernized DevOps experience for IBM i customers. They also interacts with Merlin Platform as integrated solution.
Merlin is released as IBM certified containers. This offers best practice, security, enterprise grade and so on as IBM standard container application. Merlin runs on IBM Power and x86 architecture on prem or in the cloud.
Merlin Platform
Merlin Platform is the base with functions to support centralized management for Merlin. The core capabilities of the platform include the following major functions:
Authentication – Single signed on capability for Merlin users.
Certification Management – Creates and manages certifications for TLS based connections among containers and other systems.
User Management – Creates, modifies and deletes Merlin users and their authorities.
Monitoring – Monitors resources of Merlin.
Inventory Management – Stores and manages the information of systems that Merlin interacts and connects.
Credential Management – Securely stores and manages the credentials of systems that Merlin interacts and connects.
IBM i VM Management – Provisions, manages, and deletes IBM i virtual machines through PowerVC or IBM Cloud.
IBM i Software Installer – Installs necessary software packages onto IBM i systems to enable Merlin.
Rest API management – Creates and manages RESTful APIs against IBM i programs and data stored in Db2 for i.
Merlin Tool: IBM i Developer – Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
A development environment that provides an in-browser IDE that you can use to develop IBM i applications from any machine. It provides a single-click developer workspace and eliminates local environment configuration.
Core capabilities:
Developer environment for teams
One-click workspaces for IBM i platform
Enterprise readiness and built-in security
Modern editing experience for IBM i languages (RPG, SQL, and more)
Tokenization
Formatting
Content Assist
Code Folding
Hover information
Outline view
Refactoring
Error reporting
and more…
Interaction with IBM i objects and IFS files
Support for project-based developer builds
Modern source control with Git integration
Integration with Arcad tools
Merlin Tool: IBM i CI/CD – Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment
IBM i CI/CD aims to simplify the experience of DevOps for IBM i application development.
Core capabilities provided:
Out-of-box Jenkins with ARCAD integration. Users can create their own Jenkins environment with capability to build and deploy IBM i programs.
Graphic interface to simplify key operations of Jenkins. This GUI creates Jenkins pipelines specifically for IBM i programs development.
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